As Art Lovers Duke It Out,
Market Prices Reach Records

Wealthy art collectors put aside concerns about volatile financial markets when it came time to vie for some of the best paintings and sculptures to hit the art market in years in 1998.

But the string of record prices that resulted masked some storm clouds on the horizon for the art business: Demand for the market's flagship, most-profitable sectors -- Impressionist art, jewelry and Asian art -- began to soften in 1998 and may not...